By the time we finally reached Ouarzazate, Morocco’s last frontier of civilization before the great Sahara desert and its vast plains of nothingness, I’d become positively car sick, mainly because of the countless hairpin turns we’d had to endure to cross the High Atlas Mountains from Marrakech.

This desolate area of Morocco is not for the fainthearted, but if you are willing to attempt the journey, you will be rewarded at the end by the spectacular vision of Ait Ben Haddou, Morocco’s most beautiful kasbah and the backdrop for many iconic period films on the deserts of Arabia. There is no other fortress as dramatic as this in the world, so this alone is worth the long drive.

THE ULTIMATE DESTINATION

For the discerning traveler, there is also the added carrot stick of staying at Dar Ahlam, a true destination hotel for those who think they’ve already been there and done that.

Approximately 40 kilometers from Ouarzazate, it’s a modern and luxurious version of a kasbah, rising surrealistically out of the middle of a windswept land of sand with a hundred – if not a thousand and one – crumbling kasbahs.

However, this is where the similarities end, as Dar Ahlam may be a 19th century mud brick kasbah in the middle of absolutely nowhere, but it’s been renovated by local craftsmen in the most authentic way to offer guests a traditional experience coupled with unimaginable five-star comfort.

PARIS IN MOROCCO

At least this was how I felt as, dusty from the drive, I walked through its stark entrance and navigated the initially dark entrance corridors to eventually emerge into a light-filled living room straight out of a Parisian interior design magazine.

Here, we sat down to enjoy champagne and sweets from Pierre Herme, listening to lounge music and marveling at the sudden easy elegance of everything. Where were we? The 16th arrondissement of Paris? We could have been well forgiven for thinking so.

Meanwhile, our suites in Dar Ahlam’s gardens, right next to the organic vegetable plot, were lovely combinations of Western aesthetics and Islamic décor and details.

In a stylish recreation of what seemed to me the embodiment of a contemporary Arabian fantasy, we had swaths of gauzy fabric adorning the walls or hanging from the ceilings, intricate inlaid furniture in

the lounge area, and a beautiful hand-hammered giant brass tray perched on a stand, laden with sweets, bottles of liqueur and anything else we might have wanted for a comfortable stay.

EXPERIENCING 1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS

Unfortunately, we had little time to enjoy these delights, as we had to leave again as quickly as we had arrived and walked through the property. Having flown to North Africa and from Marrakech come this very long way, we wanted to explore the countryside of sand dunes and 1000 kasbahs along a road that begins in the north of Morocco and that eventually – we were told – finds its way to the Silk Route in Asia. Late afternoon was the perfect time to do it.

What an unforgettable experience this was. We got into a 4WD that bobbed up and down with fervor through a large oasis until we reached the remains of a road that once saw the passing of hundreds of caravans involved in trade between the East and West. We drove past one kasbah after another, some obviously abandoned for years, several reinvented as coffee shops and simple restaurants, and others rebuilt as lodgings for adventure tourism.

“We can stop wherever you wish,” our guide said, “or I can bring you to some of my favorites.”

One kasbah we visited offered a glimpse of life a century ago via well-preserved receiving rooms lined wall-to-wall with fraying Berber carpets and an ancient kitchen that looked like it was still in use. Another advertised clean beds and decent meals for hardy travelers, while still another stood in a grove of palm trees, looking like it was about to crumble and disappear.

COCKTAILS IN THE DESERT

After an afternoon of explorations, we drove out to a hill in the dessert that afforded a panoramic 360-degree view of the environs of Skoura. This was as close to the Sahara desert as we were getting on this trip, but it was good enough. What I had seen so far in the equivalent of a Moroccan outback was even better than what I had imagined, standing on top of that world with the sun closing in, living a Travelife.

A lovely surprise awaited us as well. The staff of Dar Ahlam had gone ahead and prepared cocktails and afternoon tea for us, so that when we reached this point, there were two waiters all smiles and yet standing ever so formally at the end of a path lined with brass lanterns; and champagne flutes, tea cups and a vintage pot spread out on a Berber carpet, with tea leaves and fresh sprigs of mint on a tray nearby.

I could have sat there for hours, drinking cup after cup of tea, soaking in the most unreal atmosphere of Morocco at its beautiful wildest. This was, after all, what I had traveled to the ends of the earth for – and now, I knew that the efforts had been worth it.

This is not the end of the story, however. For when we returned to Dar Ahlam, the staff had arranged a lovely al fresco dinner on the rooftop, where we dined seated on Berber carpets amidst the glow of dozens of lanterns. The ubiquitious Moroccan lamb tagine made its appearance on the low wooden table, of course, and it was delicious. But at that point, the food was almost immaterial because we were under the stars on a beautiful evening, in a place that was simply out of this world.

The post Driving to Ouarzazate and Dar Ahlam appeared first on TRAVELIFE Magazine.

56 hours back in Manila and I’m still on South Africa mode, editing photos, writing an article on my safari experience and drinking detoxifying Roobois tea.

I got back on Thursday morning after a marathon trip across the world that began with an early morning wake-up call at 530 AM in Constantia, a suburb just outside Cape Town, on Wednesday, and went on through almost 18 hours of non-stop airplane time to Manila via Johannesburg and Hong Kong.

The Steenberg in Constantia, South Africa

I finally landed in Manila mid-morning on Thursday, and it was straight to the office to get back to work. Thursday evening, though, I cut myself some slack and stayed home instead of attending the usual round of events.

It certainly wasn’t jetlag as Manila is ahead of South Africa by about six hours in terms of time; but by Thursday night I just couldn’t keep awake.

On Friday afternoon and evening, I had three rounds of champagne in between work and all kinds of stuff. At this rate, I almost imagined I was still in South Africa as I was having champagne over there at almost this same pace.

Friday afternoon, I dropped by a friend’s perfectly planned children’s birthday party, at a salon in Legazpi Village, to say hello to everyone. I call the hostess “Martha Stewart” because all her parties are picture-perfect and also perfect in every single detail.

This was where I got my first glass of champagne — they served Thai food and sushi with champagne for the adults — and then I refilled my glass and ended up bringing it back to my office.

My office is just about a block away, you see, so I decided to bring my glass to the office so that I could do my first round of magazine pagination with champagne in hand.

My staff teased me: “Ma’am, don’t we get one of those for pagination, too?”

Maybe next time pagination rolls around, I’ll open a bottle for everyone. So anyway, yesterday, I turned my favorite music up on loud and worked the pagination board with a glass of champagne in hand.

It was a very nice way to end a Friday workday, in a week that wasn’t really a work week but an almost perfect and much needed holiday in South Africa.

Then I returned to the birthday party to say goodbye to everyone, since it was just a block away, and this was how I got my second round of champagne. It was nice to just hang around, so I dilly-dallied for as long as I could, and then I had to rush back home at around 7 pm to prepare dinner for two friends coming over to talk about travel.

Okay, I didn’t make dinner this time as it was physically impossible to do so. But I made sure I was back a few minutes before they were meant to arrive so that I could oversee the last-minute touches.

I served only simple comfort food last night: beef salpicao with steak fried rice, spicy longganisa, a pasta and a salad.

The sand dunes of Morocco

The two guys didn’t know each other but I thought they would click since they both love traveling, so I invited them both anyway.

One guy had just returned from Morocco and Switzerland, and the other guy had just returned from hiking up the mountains of Peru on a five-day trek to Macchu Picchu. And of course I’d just been back from amazing South Africa a mere 36 hours before.

Table Mountain at sunset

I was just thinking about it tonight as someone had asked me about my best trip this year; but this trip to South Africa is probably my favorite Travelife for 2012. Then my trip around the Czech Republic in June, with two of my oldest friends, would come in second. Both trips were full of laughter and good memories.

So we had lots to talk about and it was really fun. Especially as one of the guys had brought a nice bottle of champagne. My third round.

Dinner at Kasbah at the Fort

Then tonight, I hosted a dinner for 40 people at the restaurant Kasbah in the Fort, which has excellent Moroccan/ Middle Eastern food. I’d invited about 12 ambassadors and their spouses, and a couple of prominent newspaper columnists for a pre-holiday dinner.

The Ambassador of South Africa attended tonight’s dinner as well, and talking with her about all the places I went to and the experiences I had over the past two weeks made me remember South Africa in vivid color all over again.

She asked me: “What was your best memory of the trip?”

I was at a loss to answer for several minutes. Every day had been simply wonderful, and each place and experience had been unique. But perhaps because I was just then writing up my safari experience, I ended up replying: “A bonfire dinner at Sabi Sabi’s Selati Lodge, and a really fun lunch at Bush Lodge.”

Dinner at Sabi Sabi’s Selati Lodge in South Africa

Everyone loved the food at Kasbah, by the way, and I think we all had a nice time just having a relaxing meal sans formalities.

So as you can see, I’m back in Manila, and it’s still a never-ending, and never-endingly eventful Travelife.

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